Longest Rail-Line, China

HONG KONG —


Bullet trains traveling 300 kilometers an hour, or 186 miles an hour, began regular service between Beijing and Guangzhou, the main metropolis in southeastern China. Older trains still in service on a parallel rail line take 21 hours; Amtrak trains from New York to Miami, a shorter distance, still take nearly 30 hours.

Completion of the Beijing-Guangzhou route is the latest sign that China has resumed rapid construction on one of the world’s largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects, a network of four north-south routes and four east-west routes that span the country.

Lavish spending on the project has helped jump-start the Chinese economy twice: in 2009, during the global financial crisis, and again this autumn, after a brief but sharp economic slowdown over the summer.

The hiring of as many as 100,000 workers per line has kept a lid on unemployment even as private-sector construction has slowed down because of limits on real estate speculation. And the national network has helped reduce toxic air pollution in Chinese cities and curb demand for imported diesel fuel, by freeing up a lot of capacity on older rail lines for goods to be carried by freight trains instead of heavily polluting, costlier trucks.

But the high-speed rail system has also been controversial in China. Debt to finance the construction has reached nearly 4 trillion renminbi, or $640 billion, making it one of the most visible reasons total debt has been surging as a share of economic output in China, and approaching levels in the West.

Each passenger car taken off the older, slower rail lines makes room for three freight cars, because passenger trains have to move so quickly that they force freight trains to stop frequently. But although the high-speed trains have played a big role in allowing sharp increases in freight shipments, the Ministry of Railways has not yet figured out a way to charge large freight shippers, many of them politically influential state-owned enterprises, for part of the cost of the high-speed lines, which haul only passengers.

The high-speed trains are also considerably more expensive than the heavily subsidized older passenger trains. A second-class seat on the new bullet trains from Beijing to Guangzhou costs 865 renminbi, compared with 426 renminbi for the cheapest bunk on one of the older trains, which also have narrow, uncomfortable seats for as little as 251 renminbi.

A subsequent investigation blamed flawed signaling equipment for the crash. China had been operating high-speed trains at 350 kilometers an hour, and it cut the top speed to the current rate in response to that crash.

The crash crystallized worries about the haste with which China has built its high-speed rail system. The first line, from Beijing to Tianjin, opened a week before the 2008 Olympics; a little more than four years later, the country now has 9,349 kilometers, or 5,809 miles, of high-speed lines.

China’s aviation system has a good international reputation for safety, and its occasional deadly crashes have not attracted nearly as much attention. Transportation safety experts attribute the public’s fascination with the Wenzhou crash partly to the novelty of the system and partly to a distrust among many Chinese of what is perceived as a homegrown technology, in contrast with the Boeing and Airbus jets flown by Chinese airlines.

Japanese rail executives have complained, however, that the Chinese technology is mostly copied from them, an accusation that Chinese rail executives have strenuously denied.

The main alternative to trains for most Chinese lies in the country’s roads, which have a grim reputation by international standards. Periodic crashes of intercity buses kill dozens of people at a time, while crashes of private cars are frequent in a country where four-fifths of new cars are sold to first-time buyers, often with scant driving experience.

Flights between Beijing and Guangzhou take about three hours and 15 minutes. But air travelers in China need to arrive at least an hour before a flight, compared with 20 minutes for high-speed trains, and the airports tend to be farther from the centers of cities than the high-speed train stations.

Land acquisition is the toughest part of building high-speed rail lines in the West, because the tracks need to be almost perfectly straight, and it has been an issue in China as well. Although local and provincial governments have forced owners to sell land for the tracks themselves, there have been disputes over suddenly valuable land near rail stations, with the result that surprisingly few stores and other commercial venues have sprung up around some high-speed stations through which tens of thousands of travelers move every day.

Zhao Xiangfeng, a farmer in Henan Province, said a plan to build a minimall on his and six other farmers’ land near a station had been shelved indefinitely after he and three of the other farmers refused to lease the land for anything close to what the village leadership offered. He said he worried that local leaders might try strong-arm tactics against the farmers to force them to lease the land and revive the project.

The southern segment of the new high-speed rail line, from Guangzhou as far as Wuhan, has been open for nearly three years and already suffers from heavy congestion, which could limit the number of seats available for travel all the way to Beijing during peak hours. Regular travelers on the route said in interviews that the 800-seat trains are often sold out as many as 10 trains in advance on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons, even though the trains travel as often as every four minutes, and even lunchtime trains at midweek are often full as well. - Source New York Times.

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SoMa loft embraces minimalism, modernism

Twice a week, The Chronicle features a local home on the market that caught our eye for its architecture, history or character. 

Address: 1234 Howard St., Unit 4B, San Francisco.

Asking price: $1.08 million.

Description: A streamlined, minimalist design characterizes this ultramodern loft in San Francisco's stylish South of Market neighborhood. Exposed ductwork and trusses decorate the luxury building, which also features floor-to-ceiling windows and open floor plans. The building's innovative style can be noted from the street. A glass facade coupled with anodized aluminum helps filter light into the loft throughout the day. Residents can control the metal louvers on the building's exterior, allowing its look to change during daylight hours. The loft's two bathrooms and two bedrooms are separated from the living room and kitchen by partitions. A soaking tub is the centerpiece of the European master bathroom; the master bedroom is located at the rear of the loft. Bulthaup cabinetry and Sub-Zero and Miele appliances complement the kitchen. A European shower-sink, toilet and shower are hidden behind a heavy glass door in the unit's second bathroom.

Don't miss: Stylish and contemporary features throughout the loft; the austere design enabling residents to put their own spin on their living space.

Built: 2007.

Size: Two bedrooms and two bathrooms, 1,295 square feet of living space.

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Most Googled in 2012: Whitney, PSY, Sandy

• FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 picture, Whitney Houston accepts an award at the Warner Theatre during the 2010 BET Hip Hop Honors in Washington. Houston was the “top trending” search of the year, according to Google Inc. People around the globe searched en masse for news about the superstar singer's sad, accidental drowning Photo: Nick Wass / AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The world's attention wavered between the tragic and the silly in 2012, and along the way, millions of people searched the Web to find out about a royal princess, the latest iPad, and a record-breaking skydiver.
Whitney Houston was the "top trending" search of the year, according to Google Inc.'s year-end "zeitgeist" report. Google's 12th annual roundup is "an in-depth look at the spirit of the times as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year," the company said in a blog post Wednesday.
People around the globe searched en masse for news about Houston's accidental drowning in a bathtub just before she was to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards party in February.
Google defines topics as "trending" when they garner a high amount of traffic over a sustained period of time.
Korean rapper PSY's "Gangnam Style" music video trotted into second spot, a testament to his self-deprecating giddy-up dance move. The video is approaching a billion views on YouTube.
Superstorm Sandy, the damaging storm that knocked out power and flooded parts of the East Coast in the midst of a U.S. presidential campaign, was third.
The next biggest trending searches globally were a pair of threes: the iPad 3 tablet from Apple Inc. and Diablo 3, a popular video game.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Kate Middleton, who made news with scandalous photos and a royal pregnancy; the 2012 Olympics in London; Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who was found dead of an apparent suicide in October after being bullied online; Michael Clarke Duncan, the "Green Mile" actor who died of a heart attack in September at age 54; and "BBB12," the 12th edition of "Big Brother Brasil," a reality show featuring scantily clad men and women living together.
Some trending people, according to Google, were:
— Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver who became the first to break the sound barrier without a vehicle with a 24-mile plummet from Earth's stratosphere;
— Jeremy Lin, the undrafted NBA star who exploded off the New York Knicks bench and sparked a wave of "Linsanity";
— Morgan Freeman, the actor whose untimely death turned out not to be true.
The Internet also continued its rise as a popular tool for spreading addictive ideas and phrases known as "memes." Remember LOL? If you don't know what it means by now, someone may "Laugh Out Loud" at you.
This year, Facebook said its top memes included "TBH (To Be Honest)," ''YOLO (You Only Live Once)," ''SMH (Shake My Head)." Thanks to an endlessly fascinating U.S. presidential campaign, "Big Bird" made the list after Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he might consider cutting some funds for public broadcasting.
Yahoo said its own top-searched memes for the year included "Kony 2012," a reference to the short film and campaign against Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony; "stingray photobomb" for an unusual vacation snapshot that went viral; and "binders full of women," another nod to Romney for his awkward description of his search for women cabinet members as Massachusetts' governor.
And people were happy to pass on popular Twitter posts by retweeting them. According to Twitter, the year's most popular retweets were President Barack Obama's "Four more years," and Justin Bieber's farewell to six-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died of a rare form of brain cancer: "RIP Avalanna. i love you".

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New, simpler UC logo draws derision

• This image shows the old logo of the University of California, left, with the new logo. The university's original logo -- with its open book, 1868 date stamp and "Let there be light" script -- will still be in circulation, appearing on president's letters and official university documents. But marketing materials and websites will feature a radically simple and more contemporary symbol: a little "C" nesting inside a shield-shaped "U." (AP Photo/Oakland Tribune) Photo: Associated Pin

ince 1868, the University of California's motto hasbeen "Let there be light." Now the university's new logo is bringing plenty of heat.

Critics have compared the recently unveiled logo - a yellow, half-realized "C" inside a stylized blue "U" - to a napkin doodle, a bidet or a banana label. One online commenter said it "looks like it's still loading."

The logo would be appropriate for "a shady online startup, not one of the top universities in the world," said Jacob Horn, a medical recruiter in Arcata and a Berkeley native who is among 40,000 signers of an online petition asking UC to scrap the new logo. "It devalues the university totally. If they had done even a little research, they would have found that people don't like it."

And like it, they don't. From the fields of Davis to the beaches of San Diego, students, alumni and staff have resoundingly voiced their disapproval.

The gist of the complaints is that the logo resembles a corporate brand and is a symbol of the university's continued trek toward privatization.

"It is everything our school is against. Might as well have slapped a McDonald's 'M' on top of it," Sheila Lam of Berkeley wrote on the petition. "It looks so corporate, and it looks cheap."

'Creative, flexible logo'

But the logo is not pervasive, and if it looks like a corporate brand, well, that's the reality in which the university finds itself, said Steve Montiel, media relations director for the university president's office.

"We've seen $900 million in cuts over the last four years," Montiel said. "We need to reach out directly to the people of California with a simple, creative, flexible logo that symbolizes the university as a whole and how it affects their lives."

For more than a century, diplomas, acceptance letters and a multitude of other official UC paraphernalia have been emblazoned with the traditional "Let there be light" seal, a circle around an open book illuminated by a shining star.

That logo isn't going anywhere. It will still adorn diplomas and other UC documents, Montiel said.

Demands of high tech

But about a year ago, the university's communications office found the seal had too many details and small print to reproduce well on small screens, such as the smartphones and tablets favored by prospective students.

The university also saw a need for a logo that would appeal to those who are not necessarily affiliated with UC as a way to drum up support for the entire system - not just its 10 campuses, but also its medical centers, agriculture projects, laboratories and research centers.

The new logo, created in-house at minimal public expense, Montiel said, was vetted among prospective students, parents, alumni and some of the chancellors, and is the result of much effort and consideration, he said.

About six months ago, the new logo started appearing on the UC admissions website. No one complained. But then a news story brought it to the public's attention last week, and the boom landed.

"There's been a brushfire of opinion," Montiel said. "It's not surprising that people feel passionately about this. We are paying attention to the feedback. We are listening."

But UC has no plans to drop the new logo, he said.

The logo has several versions, but the one most widely circulated shows a blue U shape, topped with a silhouette of an open book. At the bottom of the U is a yellow block C fading into the blue.

'Utterly forgettable'

Mark Fox, a graphic design professor at California College of the Arts who designed that school's logo and has done work for UC in the past, panned the new effort.

"The visual language is generic, commercial and utterly forgettable," he said. "It is a complete mismatch for the university's history and reputation. (It) has no visual or conceptual gravitas."

A good logo should be distinct and memorable, create positive associations, reflect well on the company and work easily and inexpensively in all media, he said.

"The new UC logo," Fox said, "fails in most of the above criteria.

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Top 100 Wines: Rhone-style reds

Let's momentarily put aside the grumbling about the state of Syrah (still ... complicated) and the esoteric nature of Grenache (even if it's the basis of all those Chateauneufs du Pape) and just take a moment to enjoy how well the inspirations of southern France have taken hold on the West Coast.

Taken hold? Or have they been here all along? It appears that Syrah, Mourvedre and many others have been in California soil for a long time - even if no one could quite remember, in the years after Prohibition, that they were here.

No matter. These are grapes custom-fit for the state's climate, although Washington certainly is in the game in a big way, too. And as Grenache finds ever more partisans, the full inspirations of the Rhone are evolving into something with a very promising future.

2010 Bokisch Vineyards Clements Hills-Lodi Garnacha ($18, 14.5% alcohol): For all their Spanish inspirations in Lodi, Markus and Liz Bokisch continue to show the beauty of Grenache near the delta, in this case from a planting sourced to Rioja vine selections. The young vines, on volcanic, loamy soils, yielded a wine with more backbone, surprising for the vintage but with a gutsy charcoal edge, plus robust strawberry and dried apricot.

2010 Skinner El Dorado Grenache ($26, 14.8%): Winemaker Chris Pittenger continues to show the beauty of the foothills at this upstart label. The Grenache hails from two estate parcels plus two notable sites, Sumu Kaw and Fenaughty, at 2,500 and 2,850 feet, and the 2010 shows a particular perfume: iris, cedar and strawberry blossoms to match its deep berry flavors and a stony side.

2010 Failla Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah ($62, 13.9%): Ehren Jordan's dry-farmed estate parcel on the very edge of the coast never fails to deliver a powerhouse, and it's no different in this cooler year. Fermented all with whole clusters and a healthy dose (40 percent) of new oak, it's as dramatic as ever, full of candied lavender, green peppercorn, black olive, layered raspberry and wild blueberry. It smells like the best part of a coastal thicket, with an intensity that might wink at the Rhone but is unabashedly California.

2010 Gramercy Cellars Walla Walla Valley Syrah ($55, 13.9%): While you could easily be in bliss with Greg Harrington's 2009 Cabernet or his Lagniappe Syrah, his latest interpretation of Walla Walla's stony ground is deep, stunning and full of sweet spice. The inky blueberry fruit and briny tones are quintessential Washington, and its layers are dense without being outsized.

2010 Bonny Doon Vineyard Clos de Gilroy Central Coast Grenache ($18, 13.1%): The name of Randall Grahm's tribute to Grenache is a bit of a geographic shuffle, as the fruit currently comes from Soledad and Greenfield. But with a bit of Cinsault and Syrah, it shows both brooding, tar-like aromas and the bright fruit of Grenache. The blackberry and plum flavors make it instantly appealing.

2009 Landmark Sonoma Valley Grenache ($25, 13%): Even amid the success of its lavish Chardonnay, this Sonoma Valley winery, now owned by Fiji Water owner Stewart Resnick, has bet big on a Rhone inspiration. This young-vine example proves their wisdom, with its warm coffee and nutmeg aromas and surprisingly delicate berry and pomegranate fruit. Subtle and fulfilling.

2010 Sandler Connell Vineyard Bennett Valley Syrah ($20, 11.6%): A great example of Bennett Valley being a sweet spot for this grape. Winemaker Ed Kurtzman (August West) tapped an otherwise Pinot-dominant site near Santa Rosa's Grange Road for a version that's racy and packed with white pepper and sandalwood aromas, plus wild blueberry fruit and a chewy side perfect for the table.

2009 Peay Les Titans Sonoma Coast Syrah ($47, 13.5%): In a year with standout Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the Peay brothers and winemaker Vanessa Wong have come up with a version of powerful Syrah from their Annapolis estate that trumps those other grapes. An inky density, with fine black pepper and leather, and a sleek, but ripe, blackberry fruit that's edged by black-olive and herb savoriness. A stylish, perfect expression of coastal California Syrah.

2011 La Clarine Farm Cedarville Sierra Foothills Mourvedre ($22, 11.7%): Hank Beckmeyer offered two exceptional Mourvedres from the foothills (Sumu Kaw being the other), but this late-picked bottling, from granitic soils at around 2,500 feet elevation near Fair Play, is downright explosive in its aromas: bay leaf, wild sage and aniseed, matched by bright cranberry and pomegranate. Mourvedre doing a delicious impersonation of Jura wine.

2009 Buty Rediviva of the Stones Walla Walla Valley Red ($60, 13.8%): From winemaker Caleb Foster, this might be Washington's quintessential wine. Mostly Syrah, with a bit less than one-quarter Cabernet, this leads with Syrah-like pungency: intense pepper spice and roasted game, with a Cabernet camphor accent and inky fruit that shows the warmer vintage. Deep and almost contradictory in its identity, and yet completely a sign of all the good things from the Northwest.

2009 The Ojai Vineyard Solomon Hills Vineyard Special Bottling Santa Maria Valley Syrah ($65, 13%): Adam Tolmach is having some fun with this site along Highway 101 outside Orcutt. This is fancy stuff, but it's also a tribute to Tolmach's love of the northern Rhone. Tapping a special block, he pulls off verdant aromatics - bay leaf, green peppercorn - that are matched with ripe blackberry fruit, glossy cured black olive, a subtle touch of oak and licorice warmth. An amazing benchmark for Santa Barbara.

2009 Wind Gap Sonoma Coast Syrah ($36, 12.6%): This wine is a library of Pax Mahle's greatest hits. From the Nellessen and Majik vineyards he used in his Pax Wine Cellars days, plus the Armagh vineyard, this is the quintessence of edgy coastal Syrah. Aged in old oak and fermented with whole clusters, it brims with big, warm spice on the nose: coriander, bacon fat, oily black olive and plum skin. It's daring but never austere, with gorgeous blue fruit and minerality.

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The Santa Tantrum Hall of Fame (Send us your 2012 entries!)

Welcome back to the Santa Tantrum Awards, celebrating the growing toddler war against St. Nick since 2006.

I’m convinced that every year will be the last for this contest. The holidays are a very busy time at the newspaper. I’m still handing out prizes for the Halloween contest. And while our other contests generally result in a comments love fest (by SFGate standards), the Santa Tantrum Awards are steeped in controversy.

But after looking at last year’s winners, the passion returned again. There’s nothing I’d rather do for the next 13 days than collect your photos of children throwing a fit on an overworked, underpaid mall Santa’s lap. Preferably with a handful of his fake beard in their tiny fist.

My defense of the Santa Tantrum Awards is below. But first …

The Rules: E-mail a photo of your baby or toddler — or yourself as a baby or toddler — crying on Santa’s lap to phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. No repeats from previous years, don’t send someone else’s photo and please don’t do anything to make your child cry. Feel free to write a short e-mail to describe the scene — unless you note otherwise, I’ll assume your name and anything you write is OK to post on the blog. Please pick just one photo, no bigger than 1 MB if possible. Horizontal photos are preferred over vertical ones. There will be prizes for the winners.

In defense of the Santa Tantrums …

I know there are readers who find this exercise cruel, so I’ll present my defense up front.

1. I don’t believe parents are setting out to make their children cry. The tears, tantrums and Santa attacks often happen late in the game, after a relatively peaceful wait in a long line.

2. I would be stoked if my parents had a photo like this of me as a kid, and I believe most of these children will someday enjoy these photos immensely.

3. This is a stressful season, with a lot of pressure for everything to be perfect. I think it’s good to celebrate the fact that things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes you don’t get the present you want. Sometimes you have to work through the holidays. Sometimes a screaming 3-year-old stabs a mall Santa with a candy cane.

I don’t have room in the above slideshow for all of the stories and my (allegedly) witty captions describing each winner, so I’ll provide links to the original posts. The 2011 Santa Tantrum Award winners are here. The 2010 winners are here. The 2009 winners are here. The 2008 winners are here. The 2007 winners are here. The 2006 winners are here.

Enjoy the photos. Thanks to everyone who entered past contests. I’m looking forward to seeing what we get in 2012.

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Walking meditation a fitness favorite

Occupation: Referral coordinator at A Home Within, and barista at Sweet Inspiration Bakery.

Activity: Walking meditation.

Where do you do walking meditation? I walk the labyrinths (both indoor and outside) at Grace Cathedral every weekday after work. I start at the beginning of the labyrinth and, usually at a slow pace, make my way toward the center. I concentrate on my breath and on my walking. Once I reach the middle, I usually try to clear my head; it's often a time of gratitude for being able to be present with myself in this way. I walk back out the same way, concentrating on my breath and walking. I usually do the outside labyrinth first and then move inside, take off my shoes and do it all over again.

Benefits: The routine and ritual of it is important. I dedicate this time to being with myself and wherever I am at the time, with no distractions. My job, at times, can be intense, and walking the labyrinth after work is a great way to separate my work and life modes. I get to feel my body physically move toward something, even as I try to empty myself. It's a very grounding experience. It's just me, my breath and my body, no matter who else is around. I love the labyrinths at Grace, especially since I can choose between indoors or outdoors, and I get to be part of the city (there's a great view, and the grounds, as well as the buildings, are beautiful) but separate enough from the chaos of it.

Info about Grace Cathedral labyrinths: The outdoor labyrinth is made of terrazzo stone and is located to the right of the cathedral doors. The indoor labyrinth is open during cathedral hours, which are normally 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, when no special events or services are being held. One Friday evening each month (usually the second Friday), people are invited to walk the labyrinth by candlelight and music. To check dates

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The British Comedy Awards: the contenders

Jonathan Ross hosts the British Comedy Awards 2012 Photo: Channel 4

 

The last big awards show of the year has arrived. By its very nature The British Comedy Awards is usually the most entertaining of the crop. No turgid bad jokes and emotional speeches here. Jonathan Ross hosts the proceedings tonight, but who are the nominees?

Best Comedy Entertainment Programme
Alan Carr Chatty Man
Celebrity Juice
Harry Hill's TV Burp
The Graham Norton Show

A category for those who prefer their humour with a big slice of camp. Alan Carr, Keith Lemon (played by Leigh Francis) and Graham Norton do ladle it on at times but the camp does a decent job of bringing their guests out of themselves. Norton may be the most polished - having hosted his own chat show for 14 years - but Harry Hill may well take this one as his much loved TV Burp recently came to an end after 11 years on air.
Who will win: Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Who ought to win: The Graham Norton Show

 

Best Sitcom
Hunderby
Rev
The Thick of It
Twenty Twelve

Julia Davis’s deliciously dark period comedy is a new arrival this year - and it has three sitcom heavyweights to beat off if it wants that gong. Its airing on Sky Atlantic means that not everyone will have seen it but, if you haven’t, rest assured it is one to watch. Rev appeared to be on the cosy end of the sitcom spectrum at its outset, being set in an east London parish with lovely Tom Hollander as the eponymous reverend, but became increasingly dark in its second series. The Thick of It, on the other hand, is black but with far more inventive swearing. Although a strong contender, this fourth series has by no means been its strongest. Twenty Twelve has been something of a surprise hit - sending up the planning of the 2012 Olympic Games perfectly. It’s certainly the most timely of the four – but is that enough? ~
Who will win: Twenty Twelve
Who ought to win: Twenty Twelve

Best New Comedy Programme 
Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life
Cardinal Burns
Hunderby
Moone Boy
Alan Partridge returned with a new one-off special after testing the waters with a few episodes of Mid Morning Matters last year. Fortunately, he’s still funny and has no shortage of fans remaining from his Nineties heyday. Cardinal Burns is a slightly surreal sitcom which may not be to everyone’s tastes but certainly has its moments. Sky1’s Moone Boy, starring movie star Chris O’Dowd, is the most gentle and charming of the four - telling of a young boy and his tall, Irish imaginary friend (O’Dowd). Each nominee is very different. The winner - hard to predict.
Who will win: Moone Boy may just take it
Who ought to win: Hunderby

Best TV Comedy Actor 
Hugh Bonneville - Twenty Twelve
Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It
Steve Coogan - Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of my Life
Tom Hollander - Rev
Four strong contenders from four much-loved British actors. Hugh Bonneville has had quite a year, with Downton Abbey’s ever-growing popularity along with this hit sitcom. As mentioned above, Steve Coogan is still a force to be reckoned with. Tom Hollander also remains one of our more understated comedy performers but this one is likely to go to Peter Capaldi for his brilliantly vitriolic performance as spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It. Only co-nominee Alan Partridge can rival Tucker for quoteability.
Who will win: Peter Capaldi
Who ought to win: Peter Capaldi

Best TV Comedy Actress
Jessica Hynes - Twenty Twelve
Olivia Colman - Rev
Olivia Colman - Twenty Twelve
Rebecca Front - The Thick of It
Well, statistically speaking Olivia Colman is likely to take this one. She also happens to be brilliant is just about everything she appears in - were she still in PeepShow, she’d probably be nominated for that too. However, she shares the nominations with two other comedy heavyweights. Jessica Hynes as the clueless, PR guff-spouting brand manager rang all too true for anyone who has had a passing association with public relations. As the leader of the Opposition in The Thick of It, Rebecca Front has often been the straight character - but has increasingly been given her own choice swear words too.
Who will win: Olivia Colman
Who ought to win: Olivia Colman

Best Male Television Comic
David Mitchell
Harry Hill
Lee Mack
Sean Lock
Harry Hill may have left TV Burp behind, but you can still find him presenting our finest home movie bluffs on You’ve Been Framed. David Mitchell, Lee Mack and Sean Lock are all regulars on the panel show circuit - with Mack and Mitchell both having their own sitcoms in Not Going Out and Peep Show, respectively. Your favourite will probably depend on your tolerance for puns and cringemaking one-liners - Lee Mack, in particular, has carved his whole career based on them.
Who will win: Harry Hill
Who ought to win: David Mitchell

Best Female Television Comic
Jo Brand
Nina Conti
Sarah Millican
Sue Perkins
To make life tougher for the judges, each of these comedians is excellent. Jo Brand’s dry humour has only improved with her gentle NHS sitcom Getting On. Nina Conti marks the only ventriloquist on the nominee list. Wonderfully funny Geordie Sarah Millican began hosting her own entertainment show this year, though it’s often when she is guesting on other people’s that she is at her wittiest. Sue Perkins, on the other hand, has spent most of her year presenting the hugely popular The Great British Bake Off with old comedy partner Mel Giedroyc.
Who will win: Hard to call, but probably either Jo Brand or Sarah Millican
Who ought to win: Jo Brand

Best Comedy Entertainment Personality
Charlie Brooker
Graham Norton
Harry Hill
Stephen Fry

Arguably Charlie Brooker’s acerbic wit isn’t as biting as it once was and 10’o’Clock Live was not as funny as it should have been - but he can still raise and laugh when needed. And the Black Mirror trilogy was brilliant (though that’s not why he’s nominated). Graham Norton, however, still manages to be consistently funny, while bringing out the best in his guests, week after week. In his sole category, Stephen Fry is another consistent entertainer - always funny, always informative.
Who will win: Graham Norton
Who ought to win: Graham Norton

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'Age of Marissa' to kick in with Yahoo Mail overhaul?

After months waiting for Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer to put her stamp on the company, we may be getting close. A report out late today from All Things D suggests that Yahoo is readying "a major overhaul" of Yahoo Mail for December that will sport "a cleaner, 'more Gmail-like' design."

Not much more is known. Even the original rumor was unclear what this might translate into when it came to the look of the redesign. Given all the attention Mayer devoted to mobile during the course of the company's recent quarterly earnings call, that might be in the cards.

Yahoo declined to comment on the report, but one thing is clear -- the goal of just such a revamp would be to crawl out from under the shadow of Google's Gmail. When Mayer was named Yahoo's chief executive in August, one of her first orders of business was to improve Yahoo's search and e-mail offerings, reportedly holding meetings with Yahoo product leaders to determine why its chief products were losing market.Yahoo, however, holds a comfortable lead in the United States with 76.7 million, compared to second-place Gmail with 69.1 million and third-place Hotmail with 35.5 million.Even though the company released a new Mail service in May 2011 with new social-networking features, Yahoo continues to trail Google's Gmail and Microsoft's Hotmail in a tight race for e-mail provider dominance. In data for October released by ComScore, Gmail saw 287.9 million unique worldwide visitors during the period, edging out Hotmail, which finished with 286.2 million uniquevisitors. Yahoo -- the once mighty e-mail power -- came in third with 281.7 million.

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Apple HDTV rumor roundup

There hasn't quite been this much hype, intrigue, and mystery around an Apple product since the first iPad.

We're speaking, of course, about Apple's TV set. A device that began as a twinkle in an analyst's eye, and has since ballooned into what just about everyone expects Apple to roll out as its next major flagship product.

But where are these rumors coming from? How have they changed? And most importantly, how are you supposed to keep up with them? CNET's rounded down all the major ones below, a document we plan to keep lovingly updated as more tidbits make their way out. (Editors' note: This story was originally published on May 7, 2012. It has been regularly updated since then.)

December 12, 2012
Apple TV is in 'early stage of testing,' report says 
It's not a formal project yet, but Apple and suppliers Sharp and Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) are trying out designs for a large-screen, high-resolution TV, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper's sources say that Apple has been testing television set prototypes "for a number of years."

December 11, 2012
Apple TV? You're ready to pay extra, analyst says 
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty tells investors that consumers would be willing to pay a 20 percent premium on an Apple-made television, and that there's twice as much interest in purchasing such a unit versus Apple's mobile devices. That's based on the findings of a research survey the firm did, polling users on possible Apple TV scenarios.

December 6, 2012
Apple TV hinted at by CEO Tim Cook
In an interview with NBC, Apple CEO Cook notes that the TV experience in his own living room is like having "gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years," and that "it's an area of intense interest," for the company. It's not the first time Cook's been grilled over the company's own living room plans, but one of the first times Cook has said that Apple is eyeballing ways to improve the TV experience.

November 28, 2012
Time Warner CEO wants Apple to make a TV 
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes tells attendees at a Business Insider conference he'd be very interested in Apple making a TV set, highlighting Apple's "great" devices as a good example of what could be done in the TV arena.

November 20, 2012
Apple TV won't debut until late 2013, says analyst 
Somewhat rebutting a report from Jefferies & Co., Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster tells investors not to expect an Apple TV until late into 2013, specifically in November to match up with the holiday shopping season. Munster says the set would likely retail for $1,500 to $2,000 and be somewhere in the 42-inch to 55-inch range.

November 15, 2012
Analyst: Apple TV launch is 'imminent'
In a note to investors about cable technology company Arris Group, Jefferies & Co's James Kisner says the firm has heard rumblings from industry contacts that at least one major cable operator has been doing some tests to see if it can handle the extra bandwidth of an Apple TV set, suggesting its release is just around the corner.

November 12, 2012
New iPhone, iPad, and 'iTV' slated for first half of 2013? 
The China Times says Apple is readying an "iTV" device for the first half of 2013. The report is unclear about whether that's a full-fledged TV set, or an updated version of Apple's current set-top box.

September 6, 2012
No new Apple TV this year, report says
With negotiations still in flux, Apple has no plans to put out a TV set or a new set-top box, says Bloomberg. In a report that cites anonymous sources, the outlet says Apple is still trying to work out deals with content companies and cable providers to decide who gets to sell the device: cable operators or Apple.

August 24, 2012
Apple exec: Television may not be in the cards for now
After an interview with Apple executive Eddy Cue, Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves shares with investors the feeling he got that Apple is not so hot about getting into the TV business.

August 16, 2012
Apple envisions new cloud DVR, social space in set-top box 
In a follow-up to its report from the day before, The Wall Street Journal adds that Apple will bring digital video recording technology into its set-top box, along with user interface elements like what's seen on the iPad.

August 15, 2012
Apple TV could double as cable box, report says
Citing "people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal says Apple has been in talks with cable operators in the U.S. to pitch its $99 set-top box as an alternative to the cable boxes that cable subscribers rent. The report suggests no deals have yet been made toward that goal but that Apple has at least talked with cable provider Time Warner.

Apple's DVR patent.

(Credit: USPTO)

August 14, 2012
Apple gets a patent for an Apple TV cable box
OK, so patents don't always lead to products or product features, but boy is this one interesting. Apple has been granted a patent that shows content playing while a user pulls up a menu that shows what's playing on other channels. The company originally filed for the patent in late-2006. Then there was no way to watch live TV channels on an Apple TV set-top box. And there still isn't.

June 21, 2012
Sharp set to deliver Apple TV parts to Foxconn in Q3?
Citing sources, Chinese news site 21cbh.com says Foxconn will begin getting parts -- specifically LCD displays from Sharp -- sometime in the fourth quarter to begin work on an Apple TV set.

An Apple TV software development kit?

(Credit: Apple)

June 8, 2012
Apple TV to get its own SDK with apps to follow, report says
Adding to its previous claims of newly updated Apple TV software at WWDC, Boy Genius Report says Apple will offer a full-on software development kit for the platform. Said SDK would let developers build apps for the set-top box, just like they could for iOS and the Mac.

May 30, 2012
New Apple TV OS to debut at WWDC, report says
Mobile tech blog Boy Genius Report says Apple will unveil an updated version of its Apple TV operating system at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference that includes a feature to let the set-top box control third-party hardware.

May 28, 2012
Foxconn reportedly begins pilot production of Apple TV set
China Business News says that Foxconn is in the "trial production stage" of making TV sets for Apple. No other details are provided about the set, however.

May 25, 2012
Apple TV slated to debut in December?
Apple could have its TV set ready by December, with it ready to ship in early 2013, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. In the same note, Munster said the set would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 and run the gamut from 42 to 55 inches.

May 24 2012
Another idea for Apple's rumored TV: An 'iDevice'
Forrester analyst James McQuivey suggests a TV set from Apple would be more like a giant iPad married with Microsoft Kinect, enabling both touch and gesture controls, and apps.

May 14, 2012
Foxconn refutes claim it's making Apple TV sets
Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn says its chief executive made no such mention of working on an Apple TV set at a news conference in Shanghai, and that any reports otherwise are inaccurate. In a statement, the company said that chief executive Terry Gou "made it very clear that he would neither confirm nor speculate about Foxconn's involvement in the product," and that it was the company's policy not to talk about what it was working on for any customer.

HDTV maker Loewe surges, even as it nixes Apple rumor
It was an unconfirmed rumor and Loewe has said there's "absolutely nothing" to it. But considering Apple's penchant for secrecy and its efforts to keep past acquisitions out of the spotlight, Loewe shareholders are seemingly not so sure they can trust the company's dismissal.

May 11, 2012 - updated May 14
Foxconn chief weighs in on Apple television. Or not
The Apple supplier issues a denial to reports that CEO Terry Gou had said Foxconn was getting ready to produce the feverishly anticipated, but never yet announced, device.

Apple's third-generation Apple TV set top box arrived in early March, bringing 1080p with it.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

May 7, 2012
Apple HDTV prototype spotted, blog claims
Cult of Mac says it has a source who has seen Apple's rumored television, which apparently looks like a large Apple computer display, has built-in iSight, and makes use of Siri. There's even a picture! Well, OK, a mockup.

May 3, 2012
Apple TV set may not launch until 2014, says analyst
J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has some bad news for those expecting an Apple-made TV set sometime in 2012. In a note, Moskowitz said that the "economics of the TV industry are strained," and that Apple was not going to hop into the crowded market until it could garner better margins.

April 27, 2012
Apple TV set chatter heats up with rumored content talks
According to Reuters, movie channel Epix -- a joint venture of Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM -- has been in talks with Apple to bring its content to Apple's digital stores. The interesting tidbit, Reuters says, is that Apple's been pitching a deal that would bring the content beyond its $99 set top box, and to "upcoming devices that stream content."

April 5, 2012
Apple's iTV: Will it be called iPanel?
In a note to investors, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek says the expected television from Apple will be "far more than a TV." Misek added that the device would be called the "iPanel."

"We now believe the iTV could be called 'iPanel' as it is far more than a TV; it is a display, gaming center, media hub, computer, home automator, etc," he said. "Also, Apple would likely have difficulty getting naming rights from the UK TV network ITV."

February 6, 2012
Canadian telecoms vie to become Apple TV launch partner
Cable companies Rogers Communications and BCE have been in talks with Apple to be the launch network for Apple's TV set, says The Globe and Mail. Citing multiple unnamed forces, the outlet added that both companies already have the product in their labs for testing.

Apple TV for $1,499? Would you buy it?
A Best Buy customer survey asks the question of whether a 42-inch Apple HDTV would sit well at $1,499. The survey mentions that the device would have iOS and be able to buy and play apps and games from the App Store. It would also be hooked up to iCloud to store movies, TV shows and music. Other features include iSight cameras and microphones. The next day, Best Buy said that survey was "hypothetical."

January 31, 2012
Apple reportedly scouting TV display components
In a note to investors, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster mentions speaking to "a major TV component supplier who has been contacted by Apple regarding various capabilities of their television display components." Adding to that, Munster says meetings in Asia suggested the company was scouting investments on LCD technology between 3.5 to 55-inches.

January 4, 2012
The 50-inch Apple TV set rumor re-emerges
In a report about Apple's rumored TV business, USA Today cites an unnamed source who worked at Apple who said that "Apple is said to be looking at a 42-inch or larger LCD TV with built-in Wi-Fi." That same source said Apple VP of industrial design Jony Ive already had "a slick 50-inch TV" in the company's design studio.

December 27, 2011
First Apple TVs to come this summer at 32 and 37 inches?
According to Taiwan-based component news site Digitimes, Apple is in the process of ordering components to build 32-inch and 37-inch TV sets, which would go on sale in the second half of 2012.

December 18, 2011
Voice-controlled Apple TV in the works?
Apple executives have reportedly been in talks with media executives at several companies, says the Wall Street Journal. The report added that Apple's working on a technology that can identify users on devices like phones, tablets and TVs. Further out is technology that would let users change channels and search for content with their voice (presumably using Apple's Siri voice assistant), the Journal's sources said.

December 1, 2011
Apple TV sets will be mighty pricey, analyst says
Talking to attendees at Business Insider's Ignition conference, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster suggested that if Apple's TV will cost quite a bit more than standard TV sets. The example given was an $800 set, which Munster said would run customers $1,600. There would, however, be several choices and configurations to pick from Munster offered.

October 25, 2011
iTunes creator working on Apple TV, report says
The person leading Apple's internal TV efforts is the same one who helped create iTunes and develop the iPod, according to Bloomberg. Citing multiple sources, the outlet reported the Jeff Robin, Apple's vice president of consumer applications had a prototype in the works.

October 24, 2011
The 50-inch Apple TV set rumor re-emerges
Apple's TV set will be 42-inches or larger with built-in Wi-Fi according to an unnamed Apple source who talked to USA Today. That same source said Apple VP of industrial design Jony Ive already had "a slick 50-inch TV" in the company's design studio.

July 25, 2011
Rumor: New Apple iDevice to be 55-inch OLED TV
According to a "Hollywood lawyer" interviewed by online lifestyle outlet Smarthouse, Apple's been in talks to get the rights for U.S. TV shows. That same source said that the TV would feature OLED screen technology, hang in the 55-inch category, and launch sometime in 2012.

July 11, 2011
Analyst: Apple ripe for HDTV and 'Genius Squad'
In a note to investors, UBS Investment Research analyst Maynard Um offers up that Apple could expand its tech support offerings with the help of a TV set. Um suggests that Apple's in a good position to boost its market cap by anywhere from $50 billion to $100 billion by getting into the business of making and selling connected TV sets. Um cites growth in both the flat-panel TV market, as well as Internet-connected set-top boxes, adding that Apple could expand its Genius Bar support services with a paid element to help the customer get it set up back at his or her home.

(Credit: Apple)

June 23, 2011
Analyst: iCloud linked to Apple's TV ambitions
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster says Apple's iCloud will be the key to Apple's television efforts. "Apple's iCloud service for media storage makes it simpler to own multiple Apple devices and share content among them," Munster wrote in a note to investors. "At first the only media iCloud will store is music and pictures, but we believe Apple may add movies and TV shows purchased or rented in iTunes to the iCloud service, which could be viewed on a TV."

April 13, 2011
Report: Apple TV set could be coming this year
In a note to investors, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said that Apple was moving towards offering a TV set of its own "at a faster pace than the market expected," and could have that product launch by the end of the year.

February 18, 2011
Job listing hints at work on Apple TV set
A new job listing says the company's looking for people who know about power supply for, among other gadgets, televisions. Could the Apple TV finally be ready to morph into an Apple-branded television?

January 3, 2011
Will Apple release a TV by end of 2012?
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster sent a note to investors saying Apple would be in the TV market by the end of 2012. "While Apple's commitment to the living room remains a 'hobby,' we continue to believe the company will enter the TV market with a full focus, as an all-in-one Apple television could move the needle when connected TVs proliferate," Munster said.

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